After a limited reopening last month, many of Andover’s finest drinking establishments have reopened now that indoor hospitality is open to the public once more.

Pubs were forced to close, along with other venues, following the various lockdowns across the past year, with a reopening over the summer months between the first two. Since then, they have been opened and closed various times, with many resorting to takeaways in order to supplement their income.

As of May 17, pubs and bars have reopened to customers, who no longer have to brave the weather if they want a drink. For many pubs in town, this is their first opening this year as they haven’t had the space to accommodate outside drinkers.

One of these was the Foresters Arms, whose landlady, Anne Evans, told the Advertiser: "It's lovely to be back. It's been really good, we've got a lot of reserved tables, and we're booked out today. It's nice to have all the regulars back in the pub."

She said some regulars had suggested they would camp outside for the reopening, but they didn't in the end. Instead, Nicola Lucker and Chris Turnball won free pints as the first members of the public to cross the threshold.

Meanwhile, Tim Abram, at the Andover Tap, said it was "a relief" to reopen

"It's good to get back behind the bar," he said, "as it was December when I was last here."

To supplement takeaway income during lockdown, Tim has been selling craft beers in the Andover BID shared shop in the Chantry Centre, as well as running a takeaway service.

"Sales haven't been too bad," he said. "It's been a bit up and down but not too bad at all. It was enough to help keep us going during lockdown."

The Foresters Arms has also been looking to the future, launching new stone grill evenings on Tuesdays and Wednesdays to tempt customers in.

As for Tim, he said: "We'll see how it goes for a month or so. We've got limited opening hours at the moment, and we'll keep going in the shared shop. We're also launching our mobile bar service soon, which will be at Andover car boot."